Material feeding and cutting mechanism for baling presses



I. A. STOBIE.

MATERIAL FEEDING AND CUTTING MECHANISM FORBALING PREssEs.

APPLICA ION FILED APR. 20, I921.

Patented Dec. 5, 1922.

J. A. STOBIE. MATERlAL FEEDING AND CUTTING MECHANISM FOR BALING PRESSES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 20,1921.

Patented Dec. 5, 1922.

3 SHEE [S-SHEE] 2.

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J. A. STOBIE. MATERIAL FEEDING AND cunme MECHANISM FOR BALING PRESSES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 20, 1921.

Patented Dec. 5, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Hull

Patented Dec. 5, 1922.

siren STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN A. STOBIE, OF MALTA BEND, MISSOURI.

Application filed April 20, 1921.

1 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN A. STOBIE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Malta Bend, in the county of Saline and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Material Feeding and Cutting Mechanism for Baling Presses, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to material feeding and cutting mechanisms, and more especially to an apparatus for use in connection with baling presses.

An object of the invention is to provide means for presenting a continuous and relatively compact stream of hay, for example, to a baling press, and just prior to its delivery into the baling chamber to cut the same into blocks or sections in which condition the said blocks are abutted one against the other and tied to form a completed bale.

Another object of this invention is to produce combined feeding and cutting devices interconnected and operatively associated with a hay baling press, means being provided for delivering a continuous and compact stream of hay to the cutting device, which latter is operated intermittently in close proximity or adjacent the baling chamber of the press.

A further object of the invention is the production of a feeding and associated cutting device which can be readily attached to the side of a baling press or removed there" from as occasion may require.

With these and other objects in view the invention further consists in the construction and arrangement of the several parts hereinafter described and pointed out in the appended claims.

.In the drawings wherein I have illustrated an embodiment of my invention and in which corresponding reference characters designate similar parts in the several views Fig. 1 is a plan View of my improved mechanism as applied to a baling press;

Fig. 2 is a view in sectional elevation showing a portion of the baling press, the cutting knife being shown in non-operative position and out of the path of the material as it is fed into the chamber of the press the construction disclosed in Serial No. 463,094.

Fig. 5 is a detail view showing a modified form of feeding device used when the material is delivered to the feeder other than by a conveying mechanism.

The present invention has been designed to facilitate the delivery of cut material, such as hay for example, to a baling press in a continuous stream and compactly massed for cutting just prior to its discharge into the baling chamber, whereby the hay when compressed is formed into separate units or blocks. In practice at present these operations are substantially disassociated and the loss of time together with the lack of uniformity in the rope-like hay as it isb delivered in bunches, is highly objectiona le.

It is to overcome these difficulties including the loss of a large portion of the nutritious part of the hay as well as the time required in separating the hay, that I have produced the present inventionv which separates the hay into convenient and readily usable blocks. When used in conjunction with a material handling and conveying apparatus set forth in a companion application filed by 'me" April 20, 1921, Serial Number 463,095, the hay is substantially untouched by pitch forks and manually'controlled tools. thereby greatly increasing the quality and appearance of the hay as well as dividing same into separate bloc-ks ready for immediate use.

Referring to the drawings, a baling press 1 is shown, said press being of any well known and preferably automatictype, or of a comp-anion application filed by me on the 20th day of April, 1921, and 463,093.

A compressing plunger2 is reciprocally mounted in the baling chamber 3,.suitablc driving means 4 being provided for operating said plunger. A pinion 5 meshes with bearing Serial Number the gear 6 of the driving means, and meshing bevel gears 7 and 8 transmit power fromsaid driving means to the shaft 9 from whiich latter the feeding mechanism is operate The feeding mechanism is driven by a sprocket chain 10 arranged to pass over the sprocket wheel 11 secured to the shaft 9, and a sprocket wheel 12 provided on an intermediate shaft 13. Another sprocket chain 14 is adapted to pass over the sprocket wheel 15 on the aforesaid shaft 13, and a sprocket wheel 16 provided on a cross shaft 17 of the feeding mechanism.

The means for delivering the material in a continuous and compact stream includes among other things an upper conveyor 18 consisting of a series of toothed sprocket chains 19 arranged to pass over the sprocket wheels 20 on the cross shaft 17 and sprocket wheels 21 on a similar cross shaft 22. The conveyor is arranged substantially horizontal in superimposed relation to the cooperating inclined conveyor and travels in the direction of the arrows shown in Fig. 4.

The cooperating inclined conveyor 23 is composed of two overlapping sections A and B, the latter section B of which is composed of the toothed sprocket chains 24 arranged to pass over sprocket Wheels 25 on a cross shaft 26 and sprocket wheels 27 mounted on a similar shaft 28. The conveyor section A consists of toothed sprocket chains 29 adapted to pass over sprocket wheels 30 provided on the cross shaft 31, and sprocket wheels 32 mounted on the aforesaid cross shaft 28. Each of the aforesaid cross shafts is journalled in the respective bearings secured to the side Wall sections 33 and 34. The side wall sections 33 and 34 converge toward the discharge or delivery end, thereby serving to condense the hay into a relatively compact mass as it leaves the restricted delivery end of the feeding device. A bottom wall or plate is provided as best shown in Fig, 4, said bottom wall being inclined upwardly for purposes of further squeezing the mate rial into the compact mass or stream.

The feeding device is supported upon the side of the baler and is provided with oppositely arranged bracket arms 36 and 37 formed integral with the side walls 33 and 34 as shown or otherwise secured thereto as will be understood. Vertical posts or uprights 38 connect the bracket arms 36 and 37. Pocket straps 39 are provided for supporting the lower ends of said posts and hinged straps 40 swing about the upper portion of said posts and retain them against the side of the baler. Locking pins or; wedges 41 pass through staples 42 over which latter the straps 40 swing as will be understood. By this construction it will be seen that the feeding device can be readily attached and removed. While I have shown ass-mar and described this form of attaching means. it will be obvious that other constructions such as hinged or swinging connections may be used, and I do not limit myself to the exact construction herein disclosed.

Feeding through or compression rollers 43 are provided at the upper and lower edges of the restricted delivery opening. The

rollers may be corrugated and of a suitable material to effectively grip the material and present it in a compact mass to the cutting knlfe. Gears 44 provided on the shaft 45 of the upper roller are adapted to receive motion from the gears 46 on the cross shaft 17, the said motion being transmitted through the idler pinions 47. The lower roller 431s driven by gears 48 secured to the shaft 49, said gears 48 being adapted to mesh with gears 50 carried by the cross shaft 13. While have not shown any specific means for adjusting the rollers 43, it will be understood that such adjusting devices may be used at this or other places throughout the device as may be required.

The cutting device is interposed between the rollers 43 and the baling chamber 3 of the press and in close proximity to each. A cuttin knife 51 in the form of a lever is pivota ly mounted at 52 upon the bracket and is vertically movable across the restricted delivery or discharge opening of the material feeding trough. The knifeis provided with a cutting blade 54 arranged for cooperative shearing action with a cutting edge 55 provided on the shear plate 56. The plate 56 is adjustably secured by means of the screw and slot connections 57 to a suporting plate 58 attached to the baling press. he plate 58 may be detachably secured to the press for purposes of removal as will be understood.

The means for operating the cutting knife 51 comprises an actuating arm or link 59 having one end connected to the end of the cutting knife by means of a pin 60, the said pin passing through a relatively short slot 61 in said link 59, and a relatively long slot 62 in the arm 51 of the cutting knife. The opposite end of the actuating link 59 is provided with a roller 63 adapted to operate in a cam groove 64 arranged upon the side ofthe press as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The intermediate portion of the cam groove 1s horizontally disposed as shown, but the re spective ends are upwardly inclined as at 65 and 66.

The end of the actuating link 59 is provided with. a depending projection or lug 67 having a face adapted to be engaged by the roller 68 carried on the compressin plunger 2 upon each reciprocation thereo An intermediate lever arm 69 is pivoted at 70 to the side of the press and has its opposite end connected to the pin 60. A spring 71 has one end attached to the lever arm 69 of the knife.

' trough. A chain of and the other end to the press, the purpose of said spring being to return the cutting knife to its inoperative and substantially vertical position as shown in Fig.2.

Upon each reciprocation of the plunger in the direction of the arrow shown in Fi 3, the lug 67 is struck by the roller 68, the roller 63 of the link 59 eing moved along the groove 64 and subsequently up the incline portion 65 thereof, as the roller 68 passes beneath the said lug 67. During this operation the lever arm 69 is swung to a vertical-position, the pin 61 moving in the slot 62 of the cutting knife as best shown in Fig. 3. By this operation the cutting blade 54 is brought downwardly across the stream of relatively compact or massed material and a section or block thereof is cut off and allowed to fall into the baling chamber? where it is compressed into the bale.

The spring 71 returns the knife to its normal inoperative position (see Fig. 2) the end portion of the cutting blade wiping against the curved plate 72. A stop lug or pm 73 serves to limit the upward movement In operation, the material is delivered to the'trough of the feeding mechanism referably in a preliminarily compresse or compact stream from the end of a conveying aplparatu's shown at C in Fig. 4 and more fu y disclosed in a companion application filed April 21, 1921, and her 463,095. It will be that the material may be delivered to the feeding mechanism in any other manner. When not delivered by the above mentioned conveying apparatus, a toothed wheel or cylinder 74 (see Fig. 5),. is mounted at the entrance of the trough and designed to smooth and prevent the material from bunching and otherwise feeding too rapidly through the gears 75 is arranged to drive the toothed. wheel from the shaft 22 of the upper conveyor.

The material is advanced by the upper and lower conveyors and fed through the restricted discharge opening by the rollers 43 in a compact stream. The rnife is designed to cut sections or blocks from the stream of material by means of the roller 68 on plunger 2 striking the lug 67 and operating said knife in the manner, hereinbefore described.

A chute 76 is arranged to receive the cut block or section of material and direct the same into the baling chamber of the press, where it is compressed against the preceding block or section until the entire bale is completed.

The tying of the several blocks or sections together to form a bale may be done by an automatic mechanism associated with the baler as will be understood.

Material such as hay, for example, when fed in a constant stream and cut into separate bearing Serial Numunderstood however,

units constitutes a readily usable product which can be rapidly prepared in a minimum amount of time.

It will be understood that changes in the proportion, size, location and arrangement of the several parts may be resorted to and I do not limit myself to the exact disclosure herein.

I claim:

1. The combination with a baling press of a material feeding mechanism fol-advancing material to be baled in a stream to said press, means including a knife for cutting said material into separate units to form the completed bale, said knife being located between the feeding mechanism and baling press, and means for intermittently operating said knife.

2. The combinationwith a baling press of a material feeding mechanism for advancing the material to be baled in a stream to said press, means for cutting the material into separate units to form the completed bale, said means being located between the feeding mechanism and baling press and means interconnected with and operated by the baling press for operating said cutting means in timed relation thereto.

3. The combination with a baling press of a material feeding mechanism for advancing the material to be baled in a stream to said press, and means for cutting the material into separate units to form the completed bale, said means bein located between the aforesaid feeding mechanism and the baling ress.

p a. The combination with a baling ress having a baling chamber, of a material eeding mechanism for advancing the material to be baled, means including a movable knife arranged adjacent the baling chamber and at the end of said feeding mechanism for cutting the material into separate units to form the completed bale, and means for delivering said out units to the baling chamber.

'5. The combination with a baling press having a baling chamber, of a material feeding mechanism for advancing the material to be baled, means arranged above and in vertical alinement with the baling chamber at the end of the feeding mechanism for cutting the material into separate units to form the completed bale, and means including a chute for delivering the aforesaid cut units to the baling chamber.

6. The combination with a baling press having a baling chamber and a compressing plunger, of a feeding mechanism for advancing the material to bev baled, a knife for cutting the material into separate units to form the completed bale, means for operating said knife, and means carried by the plunger for operating the aforesaid knife operating means.

7. The combination with a baling press having a baling chamber and a compressing plunger, of a feeding mechanism for advancing the material to be baled, a pivoted knife for cutting the material into separate units to form the completed bale, means for moving said knife upon its pivot to cut the material, said means being operated in timed relation to the aforesaid plunger, and means for returning the knife to its inoperative position after each cutting operation.

8. The combination with a baling press having a baling chamber and a compressin plunger, of a feeding mechanism for a vancing the material to be baled, a knife for cutting the material into separate units to form the completed bale, means for operatin said knife in timed relation to the aforesaid plunger, and means for returning said knife to its inoperative position after each cutting operation, independently of the movement of the plunger.

9. The combination with a baling press having a baling chamber and a compressing plun er, of a feedin mechanism for advancing t e material to e baled, a knife for cutting the material into separate units to form the completed bale, a shear plate cooperatively associated with said knife, and located in close proximity to the baling chamber, means for operating said knife, and means carried by said compressing plunger for actuating said last named means.

10. The combination with a baling press of a material feeding mechanism arranged adjacent said press for advancing said material in a stream, means located between the balin press and feeding mechanism for cutting t e material into separate units to form the com leted bale, and means interconnected with the baling press for operating the aforesaid feeding mechanism and cutting means.

11. The combination with a baling press of a cuttin mechanism located adjacent one side of sai press for separating the material, and means for feeding said material to the cutting mechanism, said feeding means being arranged adjacent the cutting mecha- Mamet nism and comprising a trough having a restricted discharge opening and a conveyor arranged in said trough for delivering the material through said opening.

12. The combination with a baling press of a cutting mechanism located adjacent one side of said press for separating the material, and means including a conveyor arranged upon the opposite side of the cutting mechanism to that of the press for feeding the separated material to the cutting mechanism in a stream.

13. The combination with a baling press of a cutting mechanism located adjacent one side of the baling press for separating the material, means including a conveyor for feeding the material in a stream to the cutting mechanism, said conveyor being located on the opposite side of the cutting mechanism to that of the press and associated vertically spaced rollers in close proximity to said cutting mechanism-for compacting and feeding the material to the cutting mechanism.

14:. The combination with a baling press of a cutting mechanism for separating the material, and means for feeding said material to the cutting mechanism, said means including a trough having a restricted discharge opening terminating adjacent said cutting mechanism, a conveyor in said trough for advancing the material, and cooperatin rollers located at the aforesaid restricted discharge opening and immediately adjacent the cutting mechanism for delivering the material to the cutting mechanism in a compact stream.

15. The combination with a baling press having a baling chamber of a cutting mechanism arranged adjacent thereto and a material feeding device arranged in close proximity to the aforesaid baling chamber and upon the opposite side of the cutting mechanism to that of the baling press, and means for detachably connecting said feeding device to the press.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JOHN A. STOBTE. 

